A TophxAang Story
by kaibasgirlx
Summary: Eh...title says it all. R&R [Taang]
1. Chapter 1

**A TophxAang Story**

_**-1-**_

The night was quiet. Toph lay on her back, staring unseeingly at the ceiling. Deciding she couldn't sleep, she got out of bed and went to sit outside on the porch. A light breeze tickeled her face, as Momo scurried onto her shoulder.

Absentmindedly, she stroked the lemur's head as she mused about what it felt like to be in the city again with walls, people, and rules.

"This sure sucks, huh, Momo?" she said, looking unseeingly ahead of her. She felt him shrug in response, then jump down to curl on her lap.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," she muttered, leaning back on her hands. "I hate being here; it's almost as bad as being back home. It's like having your wings clipped, only worse."

She felt the lemur shudder. It caused a smile to come to her lips, as she pet its soft fur. "Well, at least someone knows how I feel."

There was a long silence as she listened to the sounds around her. The leaves rustling in the wind, the water splashing into the fountain from the house next door, the soft chatter of people taking late night walks and enjoying the pleasant weather.

She sighed as she propped one elbow on her knee and rested her chin in her hand. "So how long do you think Twinkle-Toes and Sugar Queen are going to keep us here?"

The lemur gave a chirp in response, causing the blind girl to chuckle. "Oh, right, and Snoozles. Forgot about him."

She tensed up as she felt vibrations coming towards her from inside. They were light footed, and knew immediately whom they belonged to.

"Hey, Toph," Aang said, sliding open the door and coming to sit next to her. "What are you doing out here so late?"

"Counting stars," she replied dryly.

Aang was about to ask if she thought they were pretty, but then stopped, remembering. "Very funny, Toph; almost had me there."

"Geeze, you're the one who asked. What were you expecting me to say, meditating?"

"That's not such a bad idea. The weather's perfect, and it's really peaceful outside."

"Yeah, well, what do you want?"

Aang lifted a hand and scratched the back of his head nervously. "Oh, nothing much, I just…couldn't sleep."

There was a pause. "Well, that makes two of us."

Silence passed between them as Momo jumped from Toph's lap to Aang's.

"So…what's keeping you up?" The Earth bender asked, looking straight ahead.

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, just worried about Appa, I guess."

Toph didn't say anything. She remembered all-too-well how Aang blew up at her when she'd failed to save the flying Bison, never mind that she was _blind_ and the library had been _sinking_.

"Wonder of wonders." She said at last.

Aang caught the sarcasm, but didn't comment. He bent his head down and twiddled his thumbs as he waited for the blind girl to say something else. When it didn't look like she would be opening her mouth anytime soon, he took a brave stab at conversation.

"So…what's been keeping you up, Toph?"

There was another pause. "Can't sleep."

"Oh."

Silence fell between them once more, as the Avatar looked down at the lemur curled up in his lap. In truth, he really felt guilty for the way he'd shouted at the Earth Bending Master. It was wrong of him, and he had had no right to blame Toph for Appa being kidnapped. She had been trying to save their lives, and deep down, though he probably wouldn't admit it, he knew that it was thanks to her they were still here, and not buried thousands of feet beneath the desert sands.

He wanted to apologize to her, but couldn't bring himself to say the words. Pride was a painful thing, he'd discovered.

Just as he was mustering up the courage to open his mouth, Toph abruptly stood up.

"Well, I'm going to sleep. See you in the morning, Twinkle-Toes."

"O-okay. See you."

He watched her walk inside. Momo jumped off his lap and scurried after her. Aang looked down at his knees and let out a sigh.

Over on the rooftops, two soldiers were watching carefully. Once Aang had gone inside, they disappeared and went to report to the head of the Dai Li.

"I see." Long Feng nodded his head after receiving the report. Standing up, he turned to face the wall, hands folded behind his back. "Still causing trouble, is he? I suppose his flying Bison wasn't enough. Let's see if we can't give him a better reason to bend to our will." He looked at the two soldiers from the corner of his eye. "Watch them carefully, and when the moment is right, strike."

They nodded their heads, faces impassive. In a flash, they were gone.

"Let's see how you handle another loss, Avatar Aang." He chuckled softly.

-

The morning sun shone brightly, its light reflecting off the dew-soaked grass. Birds chirped their different sounds, the music flying in through the open window.

"It's such a gorgeous day!" Katara exclaimed, feeling the rays of light warm her brown face. She turned to face her friends in the large sitting room. "I say we do something special together, like have a picnic or something!"

From her spot on the floor, Toph snorted. She threw a punching ball against the wall as she spoke. "You call that special? I say we enter a tournament and beat all the losers there. Now _that's_ my idea of a good time!"

"I…don't know if that's so smart," Katara answered. "I mean, it'll just stir up trouble for no reason, and that's something we want to avoid while in Ba Sing Se."

The blind girl crossed her arms muttering, "party pooper."

"Well, I say we try and get an audience with the Earth King. I mean, come on, there's no way we can wait a month; this is vital information! I still don't get why they didn't let us see him right away!" Sokka exclaimed, sitting up, all energized.

"That's a complete waste of time." Toph replied dismissively. "The most that's going to happen is we'll run into Ju-D and she won't let us in. They don't want us meeting with the King, solar eclipse or not. They're still pretending the war doesn't exist, remember?"

"Yeah, well," Sokka trailed off, knowing she was right.

"We shouldn't let that ruin our day though," Katara said, coming over to where they were sitting. "Even if they are stupid. What do you think Aang? Shouldn't we do something fun together?"

The Avatar looked up from where he was staring at the floor. "I don't know. Maybe we should each do something by ourselves today."

The water-bender looked at him in concern. "What's the matter, Aang?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I think I'm just going to meditate a little bit."

Picking up his staff, he made his way towards the door. He didn't see Toph's eyes narrowing, nor the way she sat up and made a suspicious motion, but the next thing he knew, he was flying backwards, hitting the opposite wall. "Ooof!"

Toph stood up, dusting her hands off. "I'm going for a walk." She announced, before sauntering out the front door. There was a curious smirk on her face as she left, Katara, Sokka, and a hurting Aang staring after her.

"Yep, I knew it. She's still mad." Sokka stated, breaking the silence.

"What?!" Katara rounded on him. "You didn't know anything!"

"Listen Katara, just because you have a hard time reading people's emotions, doesn't mean we all do." The Water Tribe Warrior deadpanned, as his younger sister got increasingly ticked.

"Excuse me?! You wouldn't know emotion if it slapped you in the face, like I'm about to!" She yelled, bending a water whip out of the liquid in her leather skin.

Sokka's eyes widened in fear. "Whoa, now just hold on a minute Katara, let's not do anything ra-AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Get back here!"

While the two Water Tribe siblings argued, Aang stared at the spot where Toph had disappeared. Slowly, he looked down at the wooden floor, gripping his staff, and closing his eyes in remorse.

-

Toph took a deep breath of fresh air, as she walked the streets of Ba Sing Se. Whipping Aang like that had felt good. Not only that, but it had put her into high spirits, so much so, that she thought Katara's earlier idea of having a picnic wasn't such a bad one after all.

"If only life could always be this good." She said to herself, stretching her arms and enjoying the spring breeze.

"Excuse me, are you Toph Bei Fong?" A voice said to her left.

The blind girl cracked one eye open, glancing unseeingly in the direction of the voice. "Who's asking?"

"We were told to deliver this letter to her, would that be you?" A second voice, this time from her right, spoke.

She was caught in between them, and from their tone alone, knew they were lying. For the time being, she decided to play along. "Who's it from? I don't have a correspondence with anyone."

"It does not say."

Toph stopped walking, and she felt the other two stop as well. Slowly, she extended her arm to take the letter. As the figure was about to hand it over, she switched positions and stomped her foot on the ground, causing two pillars to shoot up from the dirt and knock them into the sky.

They weren't agents of the Dai Li for nothing though, and she felt their vibrations as they landed on the ground. They, too, were skilled Earth benders, and they both got into their stances, ready to fight. Toph smirked.

"What do you think I am, stupid?" She asked. "I'm blind, no one would bother sending me a letter, cause they know I can't read. Too bad your little plan to trick me didn't work. Now, who are you? What do you want from me?"

They didn't answer, but rather glanced at each other in a knowing way.

"Tough crowd, huh? Looks like I'm just going to have to get answers for myself then." The earth-bender extended her arms, lifting a slab of earth and hurtling it straight at them.

They countered, both dodging the rock. Toph smirked as she made a slicing motion with her hand. The boulder split in two, knocking straight into them and propelling them backwards. One fell into a nearby pond, while the other hit a wall.

Toph grinned wickedly. "'Betcha didn't see that one coming-hey!"

Something clamped onto her hands, binding them behind her back. "No way, this is impossible! I beat you guys!" She struggled against the metal, trying to break free, but it was useless.

"You did."

She felt the vibrations of someone landing on the ground and coming towards her.

"You beat my two comrades. However, I was the third, and I was watching from afar the entire time, waiting for the right moment to strike."

"You coward!" She spat. "You were too scared to face me head on, cause you knew I'd kick your behind!"

He chuckled evilly. "Think what you want, it won't matter, soon enough. You see, the Dai Li has plans for you."

Using earth-bending, he encased her in a cocoon of dirt, and began transporting her easily.

"If you think you can just capture me and walk away, you've got another thing coming! When my friend's find out I'm missi-mmmph!" He covered her mouth with hardened earth, as the other two soldiers she had knocked out earlier walked up to him.

"Long Feng will be pleased to see we caught her so quickly." One of them spoke.

"Yes, he especially wanted this one. She will make an excellent weapon."

Toph's eyes went wide as she realized what they were going to do. She struggled more ferociously against her bonds, the fear evident on her face.

"And soon after, the Avatar will fall."

-End of Chapter One-

A/N: _Okay, so this is a little something I thought up after watching the episode 'The Library' straight through to 'Lake Laogai'. I haven't yet watched 'Secret of the Fire Nation' so I'm not completely sure or not if Aang ever did apologize to Toph for blaming her. However, from what I've deduced from reading other fanfics that center around this theme, it seems to me like he didn't. So that's where this little story comes in. I got really mad when he just blamed her for what happened, and than had the gall to continue learning earth-bending from her, without even a simple 'I'm sorry'. Ugh, boys and their pride!_

_So this is a three-part one shot. It shouldn't take too long to get this up. Incidentally, if you want a time frame, it takes place somewhere between 'Tales of Ba Sing Se' and 'Appa's Lost Days'. Enjoy, and please R+R!_

_Téa_


	2. Chapter 2

**A TophxAang Story**

_**-2-**_

"Ooof!" She was dumped unceremoniously on the hard stone floor.

"Hello, Toph," the head of the Dai Li greeted her.

The earth-bender glared in the direction his voice was coming from. "You jerk! Coward! Why don't you try facing me head on, instead of sending your stupid little guards after me! What, afraid I'm going to kick your sorry little-"

"Not at all," Long Feng cut her off smoothly. He waved a hand, and the cocoon of earth entrapping her was removed. The binding on her hands, however, remained. "I was hoping we could have a little chat; you know, one earth-bender to another."

"Sorry, I don't do the whole, 'talking' thing." She spat, struggling to free her hands.

"Than I suggest you learn it," he responded, walking over to her, hands behind his back. "It's really quite an art."

She glared at him, and he smiled, though it did not extend to his eyes. Those remained as cold and calculating as ever.

After a long moment of silence, the blind girl spoke. "What do you want from me?"

"That's an interesting question, Toph," he replied, walking in a circle around her. "You see, I believe there's something we both want, and we could help each other get it."

This caused her to laugh. "Me? Help you? In your dreams!"

"Ah, but doesn't everything start with a dream?" He responded softly. "A dream to be something great. A dream to do the impossible. A dream to be the_ greatest earth-bender in the world._" He bent down and whispered those last words in her ear. "Despite your handicap, I've never met anyone who was able to take down one of my agents, let alone two in one shot. I suppose it was fate that led me not to underestimate you."

Toph didn't answer, but rather gritted her teeth. This guy was getting on her nerves, fast. If only she was able to use her hands, she'd teach him a lesson he'd never forget.

"I see my words have struck a nerve." He chuckled. "We've something in common, you and I. Both of us had to work hard to reach where we are today, and despite what people have thought, and what stood against us, we each managed to accomplish it."

"I'm nothing like you!" She raged. "If you think for one minute I'm going to help you, than you're even crazier than I thought! You just wait, when my friends get here, you'll be sorry you ever decided to mess with me!"

"Friends?" He repeated, and she could hear the mockery in his voice. It caused her fists to clench within their bonds.

"Yeah, friends! Something you probably don't know anything about, seeing as you wouldn't have any!"

"Don't you mean the _Avatar_ and the _water peasants_?" He continued, ignoring her last comment. "How fascinating it is to hear you consider them your friends. I was under the impression they merely had pity on you, and decided to take you under their wing. Incidentally, didn't the Avatar want you to teach him earth-bending? I'm sure once he finishes learning everything you have to show him, he'll drop you off at the next town over. After all, blind people can be such a burden, especially since they can't help much, and always need saving."

Toph clenched her jaw. He was trying to mess with her, make her doubt her friends. She knew it was impossible for him to know what had occurred in the desert, the way Aang had shouted and blamed Appa's kidnapping on her. There was no way he could know, for the only people who had been there aside from them were Sokka and Katara. Even so, she still found herself wondering, if he could blame her so quickly, what was to say he wouldn't just dump her after learning everything she knew.

Long Feng smiled as he saw his words were having an effect. The girl was squeezing her eyes shut, seemingly struggling within herself. He had been correct in addressing the trust she placed in her companions. It won't be long now before she completely surrendered her free will to him.

"Tell me, Toph, do you enjoy music?" He asked, as motioned to the soldiers still inside the room.

The blind girl glared at him. "Shut up! I don't want to hear your voice anymore!"

"Than perhaps you'd like a little serenade." He answered, as two men lifted her and strapped her tightly to a chair, placing a gag over her mouth to stop her from screaming. A sinister tune began to play in the room, and the voice of Long Feng filled her ears in the backdrop.

"_The Avatar is your enemy. You live to serve Long Feng. You will take down all who oppose the Dai Li. The Avatar is your enemy…"_

-

It was dark outside. Aang gazed out the window, the sky shining brilliantly with thousands of diamond-like stars.

"She's still not back yet," he said, as he picked up his staff and turned away from the glass. "I'm worried."

"She's probably fine," Sokka answered, as he laid a card on the table.

Katara turned her head to look at him. "Normally, I'd be worried too, but I know Toph; she likes her independence."

"Yeah, but it's already after dark, she's never taken this long to show up before!" Aang insisted. "And she's never been out this long by herself either."

"Aang, she's not a kid!" Sokka said exasperatedly, as Katara trumped him. "I mean, sure, she's blind, and she's twelve, but I mean to say, you're twelve, and besides, she's got like, night vision. She doesn't need to see."

"Sokka's right," Katara agreed. "I mean, usually he's wrong, but now he's making a lot of sense."

"Hey!" The Water Tribesman exclaimed. His sister merely smirked as she made her next move.

Aang sighed. He had wanted to apologize to her tonight. He spent the whole day mustering up the courage, and he felt that if she didn't show up soon, he'd lose his nerve. "You don't think something might have happened to her, do you?"

"Knowing Toph, she probably just entered some illegal earth-bending tournament and is in middle of kicking all the other benders out of the ring," Sokka replied calmly, as he contemplated his next move. Smiling widely, he put down a card. "Oh yeah Katara! Beat that!" He crowed.

The water-bender, however, was not listening, as she locked eyes with the Avatar. Both were thinking the exact same thing.

"Let's go, Katara." Aang said, already headed towards the door.

"Right." She stood up, and grabbed Sokka.

"Whaaat?! Hey, where are we going?!" He shouted, as his sister dragged him outside.

"To see if there's some illegal earth-bending tournament going on!" Aang yelled over his shoulder.

"I was only joking when I said that! Darn."

The trio ran down the street, looking every which way.

"Where should we start looking?" Katara asked, turning her head this way and that.

"Looking for what?" A voice spoke from beside them.

"Toph!" All three exclaimed.

The Earth Bending Master arched an eyebrow. "What's gotten into you guys?" She asked.

"They thought you entered some illegal earth-bending tournament, and got worried," Sokka explained, matter-of-factly. "I _told_ them they were being ridiculous, but would they listen? _Nooooooo_."

Katara rounded on him. "What?! You're the one who made the suggestion in the first place!"

"I was being sarcastic, little sister. It's something I'll teach you when you're older."

"Why you-!"

"I'm glad you're okay, Toph," Aang said quietly, while the two siblings argued. "We were really worried about you for a minute there."

"Worried?" Toph tilted her head to the side, and there was a peculiar expression in her eyes. "I'd still be worried, if I were you."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

It happened without warning. Suddenly, the ground beneath the Avatar's feet disappeared. He fell, along with Sokka and Katara. His head struck the side of the wall and as darkness overtook his vision, he heard the blind girl chuckling.

"The Avatar is my enemy…"

-

Aang sat up, rubbing his head, feeling a bump where he had hit it. It took him a minute to adjust and take in his surroundings. His eyes were immediately drawn to the figure in green and yellow leaning against the far end of the room.

"Awake, Twinkle-Toes?"

"Toph?" He looked around. "What happened, was it you who attacked us like that? And where are Sokka and Katara?"

"Mmm…you catch on quickly. Not as much of an airhead as you make yourself out to be all the time, eh." Toph laughed. Aang clenched his fists. So she _had_ attacked them.

"Why Toph? Why did you attack us?"

"So many questions, you're quite curious today." Toph chuckled darkly to herself before continuing. "Why did I attack you? Simple; I was getting bored hanging out with your little gang, trying to save the world. Peace is so overrated, don't you think? _It's power that shapes the universe to what it is, and that power rests in the Dai Li_."

Aang narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth. That last sentence, those weren't her own words. "Long Feng brainwashed you, didn't he?"

"Brainwashed?" A smooth voice said, stepping out from behind the Earth Bending Master. "Such harsh accusations, young Avatar. Why, I merely showed this marvelous young girl a…_different_ way of looking at things."

Toph smirked. "Hey Twinkle-Toes, know how I've been teaching you to earth-bend all this time?"

Aang looked at her warily. "Yeah…"

"Here's a new move for ya!" She slammed her foot on the ground, ripping up a chunk of earth and hurtling it straight at the Avatar. He dodged it easily. What he didn't expect was for a second boulder to come at him from behind and knock him face first into the ground.

"For today's lesson, we're going to have a contest," Toph said in a sing-song voice, coming over and earth-bending him into a standing position. "We're pitting the master against the pupil. The Avatar against the Blind Bandit. And just so things can be more dramatic…good against evil.

"Win, and I'll let you and your friends go. Lose, and, well, let's just say the Avatar's going to be getting a new reincarnation."

She flicked her wrist, and he went slamming into the opposite wall. "Get ready," he heard her say. "Because I'm only giving you about 30 seconds. Oh, and just to make things fair, you're only allowed to use earth-bending. Try using another element, and…" she waved a hand, and the uppermost part of the wall flipped to reveal Sokka and Katara. "Sugar Queen and Snoozles get it."

Aang's eyes went wide as he stared up at his friends, both of whom were looking terrified.

"Aang!" Katara shouted; her hands and feet were cuffed to the wall. "Don't worry about us; do what you have to to get Toph back!"

"Easy for you to say!" Sokka exclaimed from beside her. "She's his master; he's never going to beat her!"

"Shut up, Sokka!" The water-bender hissed.

"No, he's right, Sugar Queen," Toph smirked. "There's no way Twinkle-Toes will beat me."

Aang glared at Long Feng. "Let them go! They have nothing to do with this!"

The head of the Dai Li merely smiled. "It wasn't my idea; you'll have to speak to Miss Bei Fong. She has quite the ingenious mind."

The Avatar directed his glare to the blind girl. "Why are you dragging them in?! This is between you and me; they have nothing to do with it!"

"Well, I needed _some_ way to make sure you don't cheat, and I decided this was the best. After all, it just puts more pressure on you, and we both _know_ how much you love pressure."

"Why are you doing this?!"

"Because," Toph replied, as she moved into her fighting stance. "You're my enemy."

She made the first move, and Aang barely dodged. He ran the length of the room, as the earth-bender threw one attack after another at him.

"Still running away?" She sneered, as she felt his vibrations on the ground. "Still not ready to face things like an earth-bender?"

Aang gritted his teeth as he finally stopped moving, squeezing his eyes shut, coming to a decision. "I'm not going to fight you, Toph."

The girl's eyes narrowed. "Why? Are you afraid to hurt a girl? Or do you just fear that you'll lose?"

"Neither. I'm not going to fight you, Toph, because you're my friend and I ca-"

"Shut up!" She yelled, slamming her fists into the ground. A fissure cracked through the surface of the floor, headed straight towards the Avatar. "I don't need to hear your lies!"

"Lies…" Aang shot a venomous look at Long Feng. "What have you been telling her?!"

The head of the Dai Li smirked. "Oh, nothing she doesn't already know."

"Aang!" Katara shouted from high above them. "You have to get through to her! Talk to her! Try and make her to remember who she is! Long Feng's brainwashed her!"

The Avatar blinked up at her. Before he had a chance to contemplate her words, a rock hit him in the chest, smashing him into the wall behind him.

"Still not thinking like an earth-bender, now are we? What's the matter with you, don't you know the only way to save your friends is to defeat me?" Toph said angrily.

"You _are_ my friend!" Aang shouted to her, in between the pain in his ribs and pounding in his head. "And…as a friend…I should have treated you better, I was wrong!"

"It's over Twinkle-Toes. You lose!"

"Please Toph, I'm sorry!"

The blind girl stopped, just as she was about to deliver the final blow.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have shouted you like that in the desert! I know you did your best to try and save Appa, and I should have been thankful that you kept us from being buried underground in that library! I acted like a jerk, I know, and I deserve to be punished like this. But I hope you can still accept this apology and forgive me, despite what's happened."

The air was thick with tension, as Toph stood there, unable to move.

"Toph?" Aang said cautiously, looking up at her.

She didn't seem to hear him, as different words seemed to be drumming in her ears, crashing all at once to make loud, indistinguishable noises.

Suddenly, she fell to her knees, clutching her head.

"Toph!" Aang shouted, alarmed, as he tried to move towards her.

"No! Stay Away!" She yelled, putting up a wall of earth between them.

"What's going on?!"

"I think you jogged her memories!" Katara shouted. "I think she's trying to figure out what's truth, and what's lies!"

"This would appear to be an appropriate time for me to leave," Long Feng said smoothly, as he made his way towards the exit.

"Oh no you don't!" Aang said fiercely, as he began to chase after him. Long Feng merely smirked and raised his arms, bringing the ceiling crashing down.

"It's your friends, or me, Avatar," he said, as he disappeared down the narrow passage. Aang stood there for a moment, glaring. Then he turned away and hurried to keep the entire ceiling from caving in.

In the end, he was successful, and when the dust had settled, and both Water Tribe siblings were freed, all eyes were drawn to the shelter erected in the middle of the room, and the person they knew was inside.

-End of Chapter Two-

A/N: _Wow, you guys are so awesome! You don't know how great I felt after hearing such positive feed back from all of you! Seriously, you guys rock!_

_So here's the next chapter, and the last one should be up shortly. It might take some time, cause I don't have access to the internet at the moment, which makes it difficult to post up stories and reply to reviews, but I'll get to it. Hope you all liked this chapter, I had fun typing it up. I know this chapter may seem a bit confusing, but the last one should clear it all up._

_Thanks again, you all make my day!_

_--Téa_


	3. Chapter 3

**A TophxAang Story**

_**-3-**_

The sun was beginning to set. The glowing ball of red slowly dipped beneath the horizon, painting the sky an array of different colors ranging from light pink to dazzling gold.

Toph sat on the porch, a cup of tea in her hands, feeling the warm rays of light bid their final farewell before disappearing. It had been two days since the incident with Long Feng, and though she was mostly healed now, due in large to Katara, her friend's still walked on tip-toes around her, for fear of bringing up something unpleasant. Quite frankly, this annoyed her. She wasn't so weak and traumatized that she couldn't carry a stupid conversation.

However, when she wanted to be by herself, it came in handy, as she could sit outside for hours on end and no one would bother her, except maybe the water-bender, who would come on occasion to see if there was anything she needed, like more tea, or a bite to eat.

Vibrations on the ground told her someone was coming, and from their lightness, she knew who they belonged to. They stopped right outside the door, but didn't slide it open, as though they were contemplating the wisdom of this action.

Toph frowned. Hesitation was never a friend of hers. Jabbing her heel into the ground, she sent a tremor through the floor, tripping him up and causing the young monk to fall face forward through the screen.

"Aaaarrgh!" Thud.

"Nice of you to drop in, Twinkle-Toes." She smirked as she heard the pieces of wood fall to the floor with a clatter as he dusted himself off. A shout from the doorway caught both their attention.

"Great, the screens broken! Do you know how much they're going to charge us to replace that?!"

Sokka. Good old Sokka; worrying about stupid things.

"Sokka, shut up and leave them alone."

Katara. Sweet, darling Katara; always keeping her brother in check.

"But look at it! The entire thing is broken! I mean, once they see that, they're going to think it was my fault, and then who knows what they'll do to me! They'll put me to work, without any pay! And they probably won't feed me either! And then-"

"Just get over here; we'll worry about it later!"

"Ah, don't worry Sokka, I'll tell them it was my fault!" Aang called, as he saw his friend's disappearing profile.

"You'd better!"

Toph chuckled. The Avatar came over and sat down beside her.

"I keep forgetting that you know whenever someone's coming." He began, a somewhat sheepish smile on his face.

"I think it's good that way. Now I can know when you're spying, and you'll forget to air-bend." She replied.

"I wasn't spying!" He said defensively. "I was just…passing by!"

There was a moment's pause. "You do realize I can tell when you're lying, right?"

"I'm not lying!"

"You sure suck at it too."

"I'm not!" Aang insisted.

"Whatever." She resumed staring ahead of her, feeling it get darker, and the air colder. The Avatar fidgeted nervously, trying to find the right words to say.

"Toph," he said at last. She turned to look at him with unseeing eyes. "I just…I wanted to say…I'm sorry. Maybe…If I would've apologized sooner, all of this wouldn't have happened. It's just…I was so angry with Appa being kidnapped and all, that I didn't stop to think. I felt like I had to blame someone, because if I had been there, it wouldn't have happened. So I…I blamed you."

There was a short silence before the blind girl said in an uncharacteristically soft voice, eyes averted to the ground, "so if you had been there, you would have let us sink in the desert, and chosen to save Appa. You would have given up on your friends, and saved him instead."

Aang looked shocked. "No! That's not what I meant!"

"You meant that you would have been able to see, and therefore would have been able to do a better job than me. So the fact that I tried doesn't mean anything?"

Her words were bitingly sharp, and he flinched as she looked up at him. "I…" he stopped. "You're right Toph, that's what I was thinking at the time, but to be honest…if I had been in your position, even if I could see, I would probably have done the same thing. There's no way I would have let you guys sink."

Toph carefully set down her cup of tea, and stood up, facing him fully. "Twinkle-Toes," she said, placing her hands on her hips. "I've been teaching you how to be like an earth-bender all this time, and it's obvious to me that I'm failing."

"Wha-at?" Aang stared up at her, completely bewildered. Their conversation had just jumped from one thing to the next. "What are you talking about?"

"You're still a pushover. If you were a real earth-bender, you'd have realized a long time ago that you don't have to apologize. We don't let ourselves get pushed around, and we can definitely take a couple of insults, even if they're from _The Avatar_."

"But…but when Long Feng brainwashed-" He started, completely baffled, but she cut him off.

"He told me _lies_ about you being my enemy. He never tried telling me that you hated me or anything like that! He made me believe that you guys only wanted me for my earth-bending, and that you weren't really my friends. He didn't know what happened in the desert, or that you blamed me, it was just to his convenience that you did."

"Oh…" Aang was silent for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words. "So…you weren't upset, or hurt?"

"_Please_, Twinkle-Toes, are you _trying_ to insult me? We earth-benders are made of tougher stuff."

He looked down and smiled, glad she wasn't really angry.

"But-" he felt her grab him by the scruff of his neck, pulling him up so they were almost nose to nose, and he was staring into her fierce green eyes. "Do something like that again, and I'll do worse than join Long Feng, I'll stop being your earth-bending teacher, and stop teaching you earth-bending! Got that?"

Aang gulped. "Y-yes."

"Good." She let him go and turned to leave. As she made her way towards the broken screen, she heard him call after her.

"Wait, Toph."

"What is it?" She asked, turning back around.

"I just…um…" he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Never mind."

"Yeesh. Make up you're mind, would ya. I'm going inside." She made her way over the broken pieces of wood, and stopped by the doorjamb. "By the way, make sure you fix this, before Sokka goes all paranoid again."

"Right."

He watched her leave and sighed. He wasn't yet ready to tell her, of those feelings that arose when he saw her, encased in that small shelter on the ground after Long Feng escaped. He hadn't even worked them out for himself, exactly what they were and what they meant. All he knew for sure was that the panic and fear he'd felt, when he thought he might have lost her, hadn't left him for the last few days. In truth, right now, he just wanted to hold her tight, as an assurance of some sorts that she was still there, and would be there, in the coming weeks.

That wasn't for now though. He would wait, and one day, when the war was over, and he had settled his feelings, he would tell her. Yes, he would tell her, and then they would embrace.

-The End-

A/N: _Okay, I am SO incredibly sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, I really didn't mean to make you guys wait three weeks, I was really planning on having it up much earlier, but I literally had no internet connection and no time to get on until today, so if you can all forgive me, and find it in your hearts to leave a review, that'd be really really nice of you._

_Wow, omg, I can't believe I actually finished this! Argh, I think it could use a rewrite though, I was just reading it over, and I don't know, I think they all sound kind of OOC. Darn. I also think I've been using Sokka and Katara as comic relief waaay too much. Anyway, enough about my pitiful writing skills, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, you guys were so awesome!!!_

_To everyone who stopped and took out time from their awesome lives to read this story, and, even more awesomely, actually reviewed, you guys ROCK! (Like Toph! Yeah, bad pun, I know.)_

_I'm so happy with all the positive feedback I've been getting; I hope to post more Taang in the future (Sokkla too!), as I have many ideas that are filling many notebooks. Hope you guys'll stick with me, lots of love and hugs!_

_Téa_


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